the art of self acceptance book project

if you'd like to contribute, pls join my ning site: www.willowing.ning.com and then this group: collab art.

The Art of Self Acceptance - Book Project

One of THE biggest challenges you will face in life is; loving yourself. Sadly, we are conditioned, raised to think of ourselves as less than others, a lucky of few of us had awesome parents who showered us with unconditional love, but they are few and far in between! So for many it is a struggle to love, hey, even simply like ourselves at times!

I personally think that a lack of self acceptance lies at the core of a lot of our personal and global problems. I think that a world with people who truly fully and totally unconditionally accept themselves is a utopic one and would sort out a whole load of the problems we currently have in the world!

So, why not make a book about it? I hope that this book full of your work and explorations around self acceptance will work as healing to all of us somehow! :)

Ok, so what to contribute?

I imagine each artist to get a max of 2 page spread. You can fill this spread with anything you want as long as it relates to art and self acceptance/ love/ kindness towards the self.

Examples of what you might do:

1. Submit an art journal entry which has a self love theme. With this you can write a little story about how art journaling helps you be kinder towards yourself.

2. Do you take photographs? Perhaps you take self portraits and jazz them up in photoshop? Do these projects help you with your self acceptance? Explore, describe, submit!

3. Do you write poetry? Oscar Wilde once wrote that we would all have the wildest (;) love afair with ourselves, what do you think? Submit your self love, or struggle with self love poetry to the book!

4. It doesn't have to be solely about how art helps you with your self acceptance, perhaps, you have a really really hard time loving yourself, darker entries around how it's all just not working out is also ok, perhaps submitting that dark piece of art will actually help you with your self love growth?

5. Do you sculpt, make puppets, carve wood? Do your creations helps you somehow, some way towards a happier you? Pls submit photos of your creations and share with us how and why your creations or your creative processes help you!

6. Do you make junk art? Bags? Scanner art? Knit, crochet, sew? Use polymer clay? Do any of these activities make you happier and/or help you get in touch with your you-ness and make you feel happy? Share it with the world in this book!! :-)

Ok, I am going to set a draft deadline for 20th February 2010! That gives you a month and a half to produce some ideas/ drafts!

When you submit work, try to scan it at high quality pixels (tiff format would be best, but high pixel jpeg is fine too). If you can only photographs your work, pls try to take high quality, high pixelation picture with nice lighting (best would be in natural sunlight).

Pls also submit:

1. a photograph of yourself that you love!!! ♥ (high quality again if possible)
2. any website links/ urls you'd like to have printed by your section
3. a little blurb/ story on your self love journey (no more than approx 500 words if it's accompanying a/ some pieces of art), if what you want to submit is prose then it can be larger!!

Ok, hope that gives you some great ideas you guys! Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

Please send your submissions to: willowing [at] gmail [dot] com.

If you have any other great ideas to contribute, pls let us know in the comment section! x

Big hugs
Tam x

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extra info:

Oooh, I'm so excited by all your responses! This book is going to be great! I can feel it in my bonessss! :)

Ok, so I'm just going to respond to some of your questions/ queries in this section here so that everyone can read it.

@rhomany; blurb is a self publish site like lulu and everyone will be able to buy their own copy!

@ingrid; Hi ingrid! I hope for this book to explore how art and self acceptance go together or not and for people to contribute art in any form (so could be paintings/ photography/ poetry or a simple piece of prose or ancedote about your own journey into self love/ acceptance). I would LOVE IT if you could contribute something! :) x

@heather: hi heather! it's ok to submit a photo, although it'd be important to take a high quality photo of it so that it would print properly! so excited that you're interested to contribute, yay! x

@julia; i love your idea about an art conversation! how do you envision that, pls tell me more!

Ok, so a bit more detail about what I have in mind, and let's think of a first draft deadline! The other thing I'm looking for is one or two co-editors! Anyone interested in that role?



Posted on Dec 23rd 2009:
Hi Guys!

So, I've been brooding on this idea for a while now! In the new year, I want to publish a book via blurb about Art & Self Acceptance, possible title; (The Art of Self-Love or The Art of Self-Acceptance).

I envision a book with art from all of you guys that is themed, or explores the idea of self love/ acceptance/ kindness towards the self.

The art could be in all forms; paintings/ mandalas/ photography/ 3d/ poetry/ story writing.

I am thinking of hoping to find about 30 or so contributing artists/ writers/ photographers, each gets a two page spread or less if they want to contribute less. Photos of the arists and their own journey/ stories of self acceptance in relation to art will be added and links to your websites too!

I'm hoping to produce a book that people can relate to, feel inspired by and may even find some healing through. (Perhaps a little like the post secret books although more involved with more variety and styles and different stories/ contributions).

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this in the comment section! And let me know if you're interested in being one of the contributing arists! :)

Thanks !
Tam x